TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION D. 213 



the future. But eveu with this safeguard it is not possible to 

 guard against mistakes. It must be remembered that it is to 

 the Government, acting on the instigation of large landed pro- 

 prietors, that we owe the introduction of stoats, weasels, and 

 ferrets. And, with all the knowledge in the world, we cannot 

 always foretell whether any introduced form will be able to 

 hold its own, or whether it will succeed so well as to become 

 a pest. But there can be no question that, with more scientific 

 knowledge brought to bear on the whole matter, it may be 

 possible in the future to avoid some of the glaring mistakes of 

 the past. 



8. On the Botamj of the Antarctic Islands. 



By T. Kirk, F.L.S. 



The object of this paper is to give a brief but connected account 

 of the chief features of the vascular vegetation of the Snares, 

 the x\uckland Islands, Campbell Island, Antipodes Island, and 

 Macquarie Island, so far as known. In a future paper I purpose 

 showing the relationship of the plants of these islands, together 

 with those of the Chatham Islands, and especially of Stewart 

 Island, to the entire flora of New Zealand. 



The Auckland Islands and Campbell Island have been 

 visited by three important scientific expeditions ; the first of 

 which was the French Antarctic Expedition under Admiral 

 d'Urville in 1839. The botanical collections made by the 

 French naturalists were not large : the Cryptogams were 

 described by MM. Hombron and Jacquinot in the " Voyage 

 au Pole Sud " in 1815, and the Phanerogams by M. Decaisne 

 at a later date, the descriptions being accompanied by fine 

 illustrations of the more noteworthy forms. In the same 

 year, the American Exploring Expedition under Commodore 

 Wilkes visited the islands ; but the botanists do not appear 

 to have collected very largely. In 1840, the British Ant- 

 arctic Expedition under Sir John Eoss arrived in Kendezvous 

 Harbour, now Port Eoss, when large collections were made by 

 Sir Joseph Hooker (then Dr. Hooker), assisted by Dr. Lyall, and 

 were described by the former in the first volume of his magni- 

 ficent work the " Flora Antarctica." The remarkable collec- 

 tions made on this occasion left but scanty gleanings for future 

 travellers. 



From Macquarie Island, Mr. C. Eraser, Superintendent of 

 the Botanic Gardens at Sydney, obtained seven or eight species 

 of flowering plants, amongst which was the antarctic Azorella 



